Delta Airlines Status Changes

It has been about a week now since the Delta Airlines status changes were announced. I think the shock and awe is finally starting to wear off a bit, and people have had time to go through the grieving process. Now that some time has passed, I figured it was time to dive in, break it all down and share my thoughts for each devaluation. Many of these changes go into effect on January 1, 2024 (unless otherwise noted).

Details On The Delta Airlines Status Changes & My Thoughts

Let's dive right into it all. I will go through the changes one by one and share the good, bad and mostly ugly for each.

Delta Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQD)

The main change is the “simplification” of the Delta Frequent Flyer program. In the past you could earn Delta status in a few different ways and you needed to trigger a few different programs.

Each level of status required a certain amount of Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQMs) OR Medallion Qualifying Segments (MQS). You would need to meet the quotas for one of those AND reach the proper level of Medallion Qualifying Dollars (MQDs). You could get a waiver on the MQD requirement if you spent $25,000 on a Delta Skymiles Platinum or Delta Skymiles Reserve card. It worked on the business or personal version for each. This MQD waiver worked for all status levels except for Diamond status, which required an astronomical $250,000 in spend.

It wasn't the cleanest set up, or the easiest to follow, that is for sure. Now Delta only cares about your MQD level and has eliminated all the rest. Here are the new requirements:

Ways To Earn MQDs

These are all the ways you can earn MQDs starting on January 1st, 2024:

• Earn 1 MQD per $1 spent on the following:
  • Delta Airlines flights
  • Hotels booked through Delta
  • Car rentals booked through Delta
  • Delta Vacation packages
• Earn from spending on your Delta Airlines co-branded credit cards at the following levels
  • Delta Skymiles Platinum card & Delta Skymiles Platinum Business card
    • Earn 1 MQD per $20 spent on these cards
  • Delta Skymiles Reserve card & Delta Skymiles Reserve Business card
    • Earn 1 MQD per $10 spent on these cards
  • Delta Skymiles Gold card & Delta Skymiles Gold Business card
    • There are no MQD earnings for these cards

The Good Of The Delta MQDs Change

The one good thing is this system is in fact easier. No matter what you think about the rest of it, only having to track one thing makes this a simpler process. You don't need to complete two requirements in order to hit your status level.

The Bad Of The Delta MQDs Change

The bad of it is there is no more gaming the system for outsized earning on flights. Leveraging cheap flights that fly a long distance, or mileage runs, will be a thing of the past. It remains to be seen how partner bookings play into the Medallion Qualifying Dollar (MQD) requirements but it is unlikely they are going to be as good as they were for MQMs. Partner flights were a sweet spot for many to earn Delta status for a fraction of the true cost.

The Ugly Of The Delta MQDs Change

The American Express Delta cards have become pretty worthless as a tool for earning status with Delta. That means they are mostly completely worthless overall now. That is because of their lackluster earning structure and the bottom of the value heap currency they earn, i.e. Skymiles. They will still have uses for those that like checked bags or the 15% discount on award flights, but that is about it. As for spending on the cards in any meaningful way, that is done for many starting January 1st. While it used to make sense to spend $25,000 on the cards for the MQD waiver that is no longer the case. These are the spending amounts you would need for each status level starting next year:

• Platinum Cards
  • Silver: $120,000
  • Gold: $240,000
  • Platinum: $360,000
  • Diamond: $700,000
• Reserve Cards
  • Silver: $60,000
  • Gold: $120,000
  • Platinum: $180,000
  • Diamond: $350,000

For comparison's sake you can spend a maximum of $125,000 on a Southwest credit card and earn a Companion Pass for up to 24 months. That is on a card with a fraction of the annual fee too.

What About Status Rollovers?

Another notable thing to come from the Delta Airlines status changes is the termination of the status rollover. This was one of the cooler things of the Delta Skymiles Frequent Flyer program. If you earned MQMs above your status level, but didn't reach the MQDs or MQMs required for the next level, those MQMs rolled over to the next year. It gave you incentive to keep earning, even if you weren't going to level up by the end of the year. Something pretty heady on Delta's part that they are doing away with starting next year.

What About Rollovers From 2023?

While rollovers turn into a pumpkin in 2024 you still have your MQMs for this year, so what happens to those? Here are the options Delta offers their current frequent flyers:

• Turn your MQMs into Skymiles at a rate of 2 MQMs for 1 Skymile.
  • 10,000 MQMs rolled over would turn into 5,000 Skymiles
• Turn your MQMs into MQDs at a rate of 20 MQMs for 1 MQD
  • 10,000 MQMs rolled over would turn into 500 MQDs

Turning them into Skymiles is the clear winner since the rate to turn them into MQDs is laughably bad. You can do a combination of the two options if you want as well (don't).

The Good Of The Delta Rollover Change

At least you are given an option on what you want to do with your MQM rollover for next year.

The Bad Of The Delta Rollover Change

The rate that they give you to kick start your status next year, a 20 to 1 ratio, is so bad it isn't worth taking.

The Ugly Of The Delta Rollover Change

Removing rollovers all together takes away uniqueness from the Delta Skymiles program. It also gives you no reason to continue to spend with them past your highest level of earning.

Lounge Access Changes

It is no secret that Delta lounges have been horribly crowded the last few years. Their solution to this is to cap pretty much everyone on getting in. Here are the changes rolling out:

Credit Card Access (Starting February 1, 2025)

• Delta Skymiles Reserve Card & Business Reserve Card
  • 10 Delta Sky Club visits per status year
    • Unlimited if you spend $75,000 on your card in a calendar year
• The Platinum Card From American Express & Business Platinum Card (not the Delta Skymiles Platinum card)
  • 6 Delta Sky Club visits per status year
    • Unlimited if you spend $75,000 on your card in a calendar year
• All other Delta Cards
  • No longer have the ability to purchase access

Frequent Flyers (Starting January 1, 2024)

• You can no longer gain access to Delta Sky Clubs when flying on a basic economy ticket
• They already removed Delta Sky Club individual memberships for Diamond members in 2024
  • You can use all 3 of your choice benefits for 1 Executive Sky Club membership

The Good Of The Delta Sky Club Changes

Well, they should be a lot less crowded in the near future.

The Bad Of The Delta Sky Club Changes

Tracking how many times you have visited the club on a card is going to be annoying. Will downgrading and then upgrading your card again get around the limits? If you have a ton of no lifetime language Business Platinum cards does that give you a ton of access? Even if it does, cycling through them and tracking it will be annoying. Making you use a new pass for each stop on the same itinerary is dirty too.

The Bad Of The Delta Sky Club Changes

These huge annual fee cards just don't make a ton of sense anymore, at least if you valued lounge access. Forcing your top tier elites (Diamond) to burn all their benefits to get access seems crazy too.

Delta Airlines Devalues Their Skymiles Program: ToP Thoughts

It is clear that the Delta Airlines status changes are not pretty. There isn't much of a silver lining to take away from these “enhancements”. If you fly a ton on the company dime then you probably love this. The upgrade lists will be sparse in a few years and the lounges will be more exclusive, just like they once were. For everyone else, this takes away most of the reason to even try.

Does This Spit In The Face Of Loyalty Program Logic?

Isn't that the goal of loyalty programs, to get you to make irrational decisions in a quest to earn their status? This doesn't do that. The Delta product and perks are not good enough to bridge the gap in what was and what now is. Delta is usually the most expensive option already, and their product does not have the advantage over the competition like it once did. If you offered something worlds better than everyone else then maybe people would chase it even if it doesn't make sense for them. We see it all the time with World of Hyatt Globalist status. The problem is they don't stand above everyone else in terms of perks.

Are They Chasing The Business Person Dragon?

Maybe this is an attempt to stick it to the average Joe, and clearly say “we want the business people's money”. That pool has shrunk considerably, though, with business folks traveling less often than ever. The pandemic opened the world's mind to virtual meetings and cutting that travel expense out. Can they make up the difference chasing a smaller pool of options?

Will They Take A Hit With Their Credit Cards?

What does this do to credit card spend? How many people go from $25,000 in spend a year to $0 now? I know it will for me, but how many are there like me out there? I doubt this knocks the Delta cards from Amex's most popular perch. The majority of the cardholders have them because they love the airline and don't realize how terrible of a return they offer. I love my miles (that are worth a penny)! It could see a dip in the ToP end spending with these changes though. I just don't see people incorporating their spend into their quest for status like they once did. We will see how heavy that hits during the Amex and Delta earning calls next year.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some of this backtracked in a year or so. Only time will tell if I am right though. Let me know what you think about these Delta Airlines status changes in the ToP Facebook Group.